Every organization runs on more than procedures, and performance metrics run on people’s genuine care for the work they do. Engagement is what turns compliance into commitment, and effort into innovation. Yet, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 report, that energy is slipping.
Global employee engagement fell to 21 percent in 2024, down two points from the previous year and matching the decline seen during the pandemic. The sharpest drops were among managers—the people responsible for connecting strategy to execution and setting the tone for their teams. Gallup estimates that this disengagement cost the global economy $438 billion in lost productivity last year alone.
While Gallup’s data reflect the world’s workforce as a whole, they raise important questions for scientific organizations. How can research and technical environments sustain engagement in an era defined by high expectations, rapid change, and limited resources? And what can leaders do to ensure their teams remain focused, motivated, and well?
Manager engagement declines as workplace pressures mount
Manager engagement fell from 30 percent to 27 percent in 2024, while individual contributors remained flat at 18 percent. Two groups experienced the steepest drops: female managers (down seven points) and managers under the age of 35 (down five points).
The report notes that managers are caught between competing pressures—executive demands, hybrid workforce expectations, shrinking budgets, and the disruptive pace of AI-driven transformation. “Executives and employees seem farther apart than they have been in years,” Gallup writes. “Managers are handed an almost impossible task of making it all work in the real world.”
When managers disengage, their teams often follow suit. Gallup’s data show that 70 percent of team engagement is attributable to the manager’s influence, making their well-being and motivation critical to organizational performance.
Employee well-being continues to decline worldwide
Gallup’s data suggest that falling engagement mirrors a broader decline in well-being. Only 33 percent of employees globally report they are thriving, a one-point decrease from the previous year. In North America, 52 percent of employees report that they are thriving—down four points from last year—while half experience daily stress, the highest level globally.
Loneliness also increased by two points to 22 percent, with younger professionals most affected. Gallup warns that “manager burnout eventually leads to declining performance, absenteeism, and turnover— impacting the people they lead and the organization itself.” When leadership energy wanes, organizational stability begins to wobble.
For research and laboratory environments that rely on concentration, collaboration, and continuity, these global findings may serve as a reminder: the people driving scientific progress are not immune to the same systemic pressures affecting other industries.
Gallup data reveal actionable steps for improving engagement
Despite these concerns, Gallup’s findings point to clear opportunities for improvement. The report estimates that if organizations worldwide achieved best-practice engagement levels, $9.6 trillion—about nine percent of global GDP—could be added to the economy.
Three interventions stand out:
- Train every manager: According to the report, only 44 percent of managers have received formal management training, yet those who have are half as likely to be actively disengaged. Effective development programs strengthen core skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and feedback—capabilities that enable leaders to guide teams through change with clarity and confidence.
- Teach coaching, not supervision: Managers trained in coaching experience a 20 to 28 percent improvement in performance and an 18 percent increase in team engagement. Coaching builds trust and accountability by focusing on shared problem-solving rather than oversight. When leaders use curiosity and conversation to encourage their teams to think independently, engagement and collaboration naturally rise.
- Prioritize well-being: When managers receive development and active encouragement, their likelihood of thriving increases from 28 percent to 50 percent. Encouraging realistic workloads, fostering connection among colleagues, and recognizing meaningful work can help prevent burnout before it impacts performance or morale.
For scientific organizations, these findings offer a practical takeaway. Leadership development is not a luxury, but a safeguard for quality, retention, and long-term innovation.
Building engagement through leadership development in science
Gallup’s 2025 report paints a picture of a workforce stretched between ambition and exhaustion, but it also highlights where leadership can make a measurable difference.
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For laboratories and research institutions, that lesson translates into a familiar principle: systems perform best when the people managing them are supported, trained, and connected to purpose. Engagement may not be a lab metric, but it influences nearly everyone that matters.
